Using Focus Groups in Evaluation: Methodological Reflections on a Gender-Responsive Practice

Overview & Synopsis

Focus group discussions (FGDs) are widely used in evaluation, yet their distinctive contribution is often not clearly defined. This paper shows how FGDs can reveal gender dynamics, even in evaluations that do not explicitly focus on gender, and dynamics that other methods may overlook. The paper draws on methodological literature and experience from IEG’s 2024 evaluation of World Bank and International Finance Corporation engagement for gender equality. The evaluation included eight country case studies (the Arab Republic of Egypt, Bangladesh, Benin, Mexico, Peru, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam), where 112 community-level, in-person FGDs were conducted with women, men, girls, and boys as part of 45 project deep dives. Designed for evaluators seeking to use FGDs to produce inclusive, contextually grounded evidence, the paper is relevant both for gender-responsive evaluations and for efforts to understand how policies and programs affect people in the social worlds they inhabit.